http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html If you want to be more of an Admin I recently wrote this: to start do

http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html If you want to be more of an Admin I recently wrote this: to start do 4 os installs, centos, debian, gentoo, and freebsd in that order. install apache, mysql, bind and postfix on each. set up joomla, drupal, and word press on each. make sure all 4 systems will come up with all services working on reboot. get a free subdomain from someone like dtdns.com. set bind up to use it. make sure that you can view the web pages and send emails to the machine from an external machine, doesn't have to be at a remote location, and that it continues to work on reboot (without your intervention). drupal, word press, and joomla must be working at the same time. by the time you are done you will have an ok understanding of the the various nix's and nix itself, and the tasks common for a sys admin. if you need help you can probably ask for it on the distributions forum/mailing list or the softwares forum/mailing list. it's a good start even if you want to be a programmer.